The One Where it Really Ends
by swooninghoney
Summary: True love is finally found for Joey. Sixteen years after everybody moved on, he is forced to spend the summer with young 18 year old, unruly Emma, and they will eventually fall madly in love with each other


Everybody felt like it was the end of the world when Chandler and Monica moved out of their apartement. It had been the hang out spot for their long years of friendship. The fact that they weren`t two seconds from the Central Perk Coffee shop was a depressing thought for all of them. The house was wondeful, and amazing place for the twins to grow up in a safe, wholesome home. Ross and Rachel were persistent, and decided that they wanted to raise Emma in Manhattan, she would be a little city girl. When Rachel and Ross finally understood that they were really meant to be together, all the doubts disappeared, and they were able to continue leading a joyful life raising their beloved daughter. They finally tied the knot exactly one year after Rachel was supposed to leave for Paris. Phoebe and Mike were definetly in love, both having found their mutual "freak". In the first four years of their marriage, they concieved a boy, which they named Joseph Michael, and a pair of non-identical blond twins, named Regina and Monique. Things moved on as it should and the beginning of a new era started off with family, love and marriage for everyone... but Joey.

Joey had been the only one of the group of six that did not bloom with splendour. Sixteen years later, he was still living in the same, much-loved apartement, without any children, or even a steady girlfriend. Pretty girls still came and go, he had enough of them to last him a lifetime, but never would he have thought to be still single at that age. He wasn`t the type who absolutely wanted to settle down and start a family, but a woman to love and who would love him for eternity didn`t seem like to much to ask. He was know working on a new hit TV show, and the number of women after him were thicker then ever. He could afford a better apartment, even a penthouse if he desired, but that apartment was the last aspect of stability left from his old life.

Once Chandler and Monica moved away, everything seemed to change. Phoebe and Mike decided to move across the street from them, thinking it would be best for little Joseph and the twins. Rachel and Ross were still living in New York, but had long since moved to a better apartment with Emma and their newborn daughter Emily Carole, who came three years after Emma. Once they all moved to different places, they found new friends, new co-workers and a new gang. They visited each other a few times a year, but as the years stretched on, the visits started to become less and less often, until Joey was lucky to get a call every 6 months.

It was a hot day in May, Joey had just returned from a long day of shooting on set when he got a phone call that he wasn`t expecting. He looked at the caller ID and didn't seem to reconize the number. But just for the heck of it, he decided to pick up. Who knows, maybe it was a hot chick calling for a random hookup.

"Hello, this is Joey." he answered scratching with salt and peppered two day old beard, as he fetched himself a beer from the fridge.

"Joey? Hey Joey it's Rachel! Long time no see huh? So how have you been?"

"Huh, pretty good I guess... the show's been going pretty well."

"Oh yeah... I heard about that. Emma told me you were playing the hot single dad of a New York elite or something like that. It sounds... interesting."

"Yes, something like that. So how is Emma and Emily?" the last time he had seen them, Emma had been twelve and in full stage of rebellion and Emily had still been a little innocent nine year old with Rachel's old nose.

"Emma is relieved that the year is over, she going to NYU next year. Emily is happy that she finished ninth grade. Emma has this crazy idea of trying to make it as a model or an actress before she starts "real life" as she says... so I have a huge favour that I'm going to ask you. Ross and I were planning to take the girls to France this summer, so we won't be in town, and because you know the insider's secrets of the modeling and acting world better then we do, I was wondering if you... if it's not a big problem..."

"Are you asking me to baby-sit Emma for the summer?"

"Well not exactly baby-sit... she is eighteen and old enough to take care of herself... It's more like asking you if she can stay with you and that you try to keep her out of trouble."

Joey was a bit bewildered from all of this. He hadn't talked to Rachel since Christmas and now she was asking him to baby-sit her kid for a whole summer?

"Sure Rach, I guess it won't be too hard. How hard can baby-sitting an eighteen year old be?"

"Great, I'll tell her to drive by with her suitcases tomorow morning. Our flight leaves at ten o'clock. Thank you so much Joey!"

"Wait? Tomorow? Ten o'clock..." but by then, the other side of the line was dead.

Joey took his half finished beer and went to sit on Rosita II, thinking about the odd phone call he had just received. It was just his luck, getting stuck with a kid the first summer that his show aired. That would mean, no parties, or girls at his apartment for the whole summer. He at least hoped that she wouldn't expect him to drag her around everywhere he went. Downing the rest of his beer, he turned off all the lights and went to sleep.

***

Loud frantic knocks woke him up. He was wondering if the next door neighbours Johnny and Chancy were playing a game of extreme karate/yoga again. They were always inventing stupid games like that and making a bunch of noise. He got up, slipped a pair of dirty boxers and went to open the door to see where all the racket was coming from. When he opened the door, he found himself looking at a breath-takingly beautiful woman. She was average height, with a slim figure and a generous pair of breats. Her hair was long and dark brown and she had deep blue eyes. He estimated her to be around twenty-two. He racked his brain to try and remember if he had ever slept with her. She looked pretty familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on where he saw her.

"Huh, can I help you?"

The girl didn't say a word, she just grabbed to suitcases and dragged them inside, not even saying hello or making eye contact. She then opened the fridge and took out a can of soda. After taking a sip or two, she turned back towards Joey, with a mischevious smile on her face. She looked even more beautiful then she had two minutes ago. After a few seconds, she finally opened her mouth a smooth, silky words came out of it.

"So you must be the famous Joey."

"Yes, I guess I am.. And who are you...?"

"Don't you reconize me at all?"

"Well when I bring most of the beautiful women at home, the lights are off, so sometimes its a bit hard to remember the faces..."

She laughed, her laugh ringing across the room like pefectly tuned bells.

"I'm Emma. Emma Geller Green."

Joey mouth fell down to the floor. This was Ross and Rachel's little baby? This was the girl who once peed in his shoe? He could not believe his eyes. Emma Geller Green was all grown up, and even more beautiful then her mother had ever been. She could truely be a model.

"Wow Emma, you've grown so much! I didn't even reconize you! How tall are you?"

"Almost 5'11 to be exact. It's okay I call you Joey right, cause you really don't look like an uncle."

***

Three weeks passed on, and Emma and Joey were getting along very well. He brought Emma with him on set, and the director loved her and fell in love with a striking looks. After hanging around set for a few days, the director couldn't resist to put her on the show. She was playing the hot older sister of Joey's daughter's friend. She really amazed him by how good she was on set. She started seeing one of the actors off the set, but it ended pretty badly when she discovered he was also seeing three different girls from the show.

Rachel called one night, she had just returned from Le Louvre and was wondering how Emma was.

"She's doing good Rach. She even got a part in my show!"

"Really, that's odd, I never thought she liked acting."

"She spectacular Rachel! You should see her on set, she's by far the most beautiful girl there!"

They continued to talk for a bit and then he hung up. He found Emma crying in the corner with a ice cream pint between her legs and a spoon in her mouth.

"This sucks! Since when do you buy Low Fat ice cream?"

"I've learned from the experts. Your mother and Monica used to get dumped all the time, so the decided that Low Fat was better for their figure."

"God how could I be so god damn stupid! All the other girls looked like freakin goddesses and there I was, the blimp of the bunch. They must have laughed at how ugly I was!"

"What are you talking about Emma, you are basically the most beautiful woman I know!"

He took out a spoon from the pocket of his coat and came and sat down beside her, scooping some of the chocolate ice cream and looking at her sadly. He remembered what it was like being an innocent kid. Life was much easier now.

"You're just saying that, I'm fat and ugly and no one likes me. Look, even my parents don't like me, they dumped me here with you. They didn't want to bring me in France with them, just because of what happened with Jeremy back in April."

"Emma, you are so, so beautiful. If I were twenty years younger or you'd be five years older, I would really want to kiss you right now."

Emma looked at Joey in the eyes to see if he was bluffing, but all she could see was passion and sadness in his eyes. She looked at his thick lips and beard stubble and decided that her mother wasn't all that craszy to have once loved him. He was a very attractive man. She put her hands around his neck and kissed him hungrily. He slipped his hands under her shirt and felt the smooth, silkiness of her flesh. Just knowing that he could touch her aroused him immensely. When she tilted her head back, he had a back flash of when he was in love with her mother, Rachel. They looked so much alike, except Emma was even prettier. For a moment, he wondered if he should stop this madness. But it oddly felt right, and he couldn't bring himself to stop. When all their clothing came off, they layed in each others arms, starring in each other's eyes, amazed that this could even be happening

***

The summer slipped by unnoticeably. Joey was having more fun then he had had in years. She was young, but not too young for him to feel ashamed of having her on his arm. Everywhere they went, people stopped to stare at them, not able to just walk beside them with out noticing. They made a very striking couple. He brought her everywhere with him, to every single place he could think of. She wasn't just a beautiful woman he was sleeping with, but also, she was his co-worker, and a good one to add. Everyday, she would amaze the director more and more, until he killed off the main character, who was Joey's "daughter", which made her the new main character. They were blissfully in love, nothing could pierce their perfect bubble...

RING!

"Hello?" Joey answered as he watched Emma making meatball sandwiches' naked in his kitchen. She had the body of a stripper and the face of an angel.

"Hey Joey! I didn't get a call from you in a long time and I was wondering if everything was okay."

"Yes, yes, more then you could imagine." He smiled the secret smile that only lovers could understand.

"So what have you been up to? Is Emma behaving herself? Do you guys get along?"

"Well, in total, there's some good news and some bad news."

"Ohhh, Joey, you're really starting to freak me out now!"

"The good new is, I decided to get married with this amazing, beautiful girl."

"Oh My God Joey, that's fantastic! I'm so happy for you!" Rachel was almost screaming on the other line. She put th phone down and went to inform Ross, who was just as happy for his long lived ex-bachelor friend.

"And also, I'm going to be a father is seven months!"

"Wow, this is just amazing! This is fantastic! Who new that Joey Tribianni would ever settle down."

"I guess I just had to find the right girl, that's all."

"So what's the bad news then, cause you said there was some good news and some bad news."

"Well Rach, I don't know how to tell you this, but Emma's knocked up and she's marrying some old fart."

The other side of the line was silent. You could here a wave of confusion fill the air.

"What? What does that mean!"

"Well, I love Emma and she loves me, so we decided to get married."

He could here someone grab the phone. The voice was not calm and happy, but enraged and powerfully angry.

"YOU GOT MY GIRL PREGNANT!"

He could here Ross freaking out at the end of the other line. He never liked it when she was dating guys her age, but marrying his best friend Joey who was like thirty years older then she was! This was insane!

"Ross, listen, we love each other. For me, this isn't just some fling. You know that when I love someone, I really mean it. Take Rachel for example, she was one of the only women I have ever loved. So what if Emma is younger. I've finally found the woman of my dreams. She working on the show with me, and she decided not to go to university. I'm sorry Ross, but this is just the way things are. I'll talk to you later."

He set down the phone and looked at the godess before him. Her dark hair cascaded behind her back and her curves looked even more appetizing them the sandwiches she was preparing. He got up and put his arms around her waist, kissing her neck gentily. He had waited all his life for her, and now it was his time to be happy and move on.


End file.
